50 Meter Asteroid Could Hit Earth in 2046
CGI image of the asteroid that threatens to hit Earth in 23 years.
2023 DW is the name given by NASA to the asteroid that threatens to strike Earth in 2046 on Valentine…s Day
On Tuesday evening, the American space agency revealed on Twitter that it had discovered an asteroid at the end of February which, according to its calculations, would have a 1 in 560 chance of impacting the planet on February 14, 2046. It currently estimates its size at 49.29 meters in diameter and its speed at 24km per second.
We've been tracking a new asteroid named 2023 DW that has a very small chance of impacting Earth in 2046. Often when new objects are first discovered, it takes several weeks of data to reduce the uncertainties and adequately predict their orbits years into the future. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/SaLC0AUSdP
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) March 7, 2023
“We have been tracking a new asteroid named 2023 DW which has a very low chance of impacting Earth in 2046,” NASA said on Twitter.
Italian amateur astronomer Piero Sicoli even calculated geographically where this asteroid could possibly fall on the planet. The possibility of impact would extend from Sri Lanka to the United States, including Hawaii.
#2023DW. With just 3 days of arc, I found about 1 in 400 chance of impact on Feb. 14, 2046 (JPL 1/770). Surely this possibility will soon be ruled out, however, as an exercise, I calculated where the asteroid might fall if this possibility occurred. pic.twitter.com/ldlSYJMvMz
— PS (@Piero_Sicoli) March 2, 2023
However, NASA reminds on its Twitter account that when new objects are discovered in space, it takes several weeks of data analysis to be able to correctly predict their orbit in the years to come. “Orbit analysts will continue to monitor asteroid 2023 DW and update forecasts as new data arrives,” the agency said.
So it's unlikely your dinner Valentine’s Day 23 years from now is suddenly disrupted by the impact of a massive asteroid!
When are the asteroids in Canada?
According to a census carried out by the Meteoritical Society, 102 meteorites (fragments of asteroids) have already fallen on Canadian soil over the years, including one in Quebec.
It’s in 1960 that the largest meteorite ever recorded in Canada fell in the village of Bruderheim, Alberta. She weighed more than 272 kilos.
